In my novel Jane Was Here the reincarnation of souls is central to the mystery facing the title character Jane. I don’t concern myself whether the reader believes in reincarnation (although, according to statistics, 1/3 of Americans do believe). After all, fiction is all about what if, and reincarnation is a huge what if.

Reincarnation dares to answer the question everyone asks at some point or other: “Why me?” Well, what if there was a reason why you? A reason for why someone seems to have perrenial “good luck,” or why another person suffers like Job, or another dies young, oranother, like me, has an inexplicable fear of snakes? Areason may be buried back in another time:that is,another life time…

On a hot summer night Jane appears in a small New England town. She has come to believe she is the incarnation of another young women called Jane, who in 1853 met a mysterious end in this same town. What happened and who was complicit? Jane is driven to find out.

Many proponents of reincarnation say that souls are often reborn into the same groups, though they take different roles. For example, yourpast-life sister may be reincarnated as your husband, a husband becomes a son, a son becomes the doctor who saves your life. In Jane Was Here, the question for the reader is: which one in this town was Jane’s killer? Is her murderer reincarnated as a woman or a man? Adult? Child? Who in this town was her lover? Her mother? Her betrayer? Could be anyone…until signs and messages appear, and the town’s nightmare begins.

For myself, I’ve experienced a few fleeting regressions that have opened a window into my own past lives (no, I wasn’t Cleopatra – thank God, speaking of snakes). Thus I embarked on Jane Was Here as a believer. Like Alice Sebold in The Lovely Bones, I also have my own concept of what the after-life, or I should say the between-lives, is like. The result for me is that I’m paradoxically both attached to this life and also eager to return to the between, and while I’m not crazy about dying I’m not particularly afraid of death.

I’d love to hear from anyone else who has reincarnation stories to tell, so leave a comment sharing them and you’ll be entered to win one of five copies of Jane Was Here.

Sarah Kernochan received early acclaim for her Academy Award winning documentaryMarjoe. She then recorded two albums for RCA as a singer-songwriter. In 1977, her first novelDry Hustlewas published. Returning to film, she scripted the filmNine and ½ Weeks,Impromptu,Sommersby,What Lies BeneathandAll I Wanna Do, which she also directed. She received a second Academy Award in 2002 for her short documentaryThoth. 2010 brought the re-issue ofDry Hustleas an ebook, and a third album of songs. 2011 brings us toJane Was Here; Sarah’s first love and teenage ambition – a novel about reincarnation. Sarah currently teaches screenwriting at Emerson College in Boston, and is working on a new screenplay.

The publisher is offering up five books for giveaway. Three are physical copies and are for US/Canada only. Two are ebooks and are for international only. Leave a comment telling us any reincarnation story you may have, or your thoughts on reincarnation. Then tell us if you’re US/Canada or International and be sure to include contact info!

I read a review of JANE WAS HERE a few days ago and immediatelt added it to my wishlit. I found the premise really intriguing and definitely want to see how the story unfolds. It’s a mystery, a thriller and paranormal all rolled into one. I can’t wait to read it and hope I win.

I don’t have a personal reincarnation story, but I do believe in them. I think the idea of an evil person being reincarnated is scary, but I think it would be great I remembered myself in a different life, time and place. I may even have been legendary

I’ve always been on the fence about reincarnation. Sometimes I find it impossible, but then again, when I read or watch some of the evidence that people have used to support the possibility, I find myself believing in it more and more. And as a person that has deja vu in the weirdest moments, it just makes me wonder. How do people explain children that know and can describe things they should and could never have known about?

I don’t know if reincarnation is possible or not, but I figure who am I to think something is not possible. I just hope that if it is what happens that I do not come back as a bug. I really do not like bugs. Thank you for this wonderful post today and the lovely giveaway opportunity.

I don’t think I am qualified to say whether or not it exists. I kind of wish it did though, it would be nice knowing your puppy or goldfish got a second chance >< Sounds like a great book, thank you! edysicecreamlover18ATgmailDOTcom

I don’t have a reincarnation story and to be honest, I’m not sure if I believe or not. I HAVE suffered with deja vu before, many times, but I am a Christian and we don’t exactly believe in that! lol So I am left very confused on the subject. Hope that helps!!

I’ve always believed the exact same thing myself, that souls you knew in one life will find yours again in each progressing reincarnation.

I was lucky enough to take part in a past life regression once and saw myself in a previous time and place, but one that felt so familiar, it blew me away. I’ve tried to undergo hypnosis before and it never worked, so actually being able to see a previous life was such a powerful experience for me.

I don’t have a reincarnation story, but I do believe that we will be reincarnated. I hope that when I die that I am reincarnated into something cool like a animal of some sort. Thanks for the giveaway and the chance to win.christinebails@yahoo.com

I have no idea if reincarnation is possible or happens. I guess no one else really does either? Either way, if it did happen, I soooo know I was Cleopatra in one life. Thanks for the giveaway!USmisslaurenwilk at gmail dot com

i live in the us. i believe in reincarnation. i believe that when we pass, we are reincarnated to fix or makeup for something bad we did in a past life. thanks for the giveaway!shadow_kohler(at)att(dot)net

This book seems really awesome. I don’t know whether I believe in reincarnation (I don’t know what I believe in at all), but the idea of getting closer to nirvana each time is inspiring. Thanks for the giveaway, and I’m in the US!

If we were to talk about what to believe or not.. well I do believe in a lot of things that perhaps most people do not… or just thing is not possible. Well is not story but are daja vu because that is (some of it) what is a reincarnation is; Memories and the feeling of the feeling.. so when I was younger I had some deja vu .. specially about the tree of life that some people say that is too the tree of the beast where all the leafs that are falling are all the people that is dying trying to kill the beast…and well now I can see some more deja vu about my reincarnations I had have. I DO believe.

I don’t have a reincarnation story, and I don’t know if it is real or not, but I like the idea that you get to keep reliving your life until you get it right. I would love a do-over on a few things in my life!

This book looks great and would love to win so please choose me. thanks for the giveaway and the chance to win. Have heard a lot of good stuff about this book. This is a new author for me and always looking for new books to read.christinebails@yahoo.com